Match Report

Stenhousemuir v Rangers at Ochilview Park, Stenhousemuir on 5.1.14

SPFL Division One                            Att 2546

Stenhousemuir 0 Rangers 2 [Law 31, 90]

For the second time in four days Stenhousemuir came up against full time opposition and conceded a goal in the last minute it was not a case of fitness though being the telling factor as the Warriors equipped themselves well in that department but more that they were caught on the counter as they pushed for an equaliser.

The short time between these games was due to the fact that this was a re-arranged game after the initial one was postponed due to flooding in mid-December. The tight scheduling had led to a twitter storm after John Gemmell had made some injudicious comments on his account and this overshadowed a decent Stenhousemuir performance.

The Warriors have been slow to get going in matches of late and they were perhaps fortunate that Rangers were also slow to get going in this game. Indeed chances were at a premium for both sides in the opening exchanges and it took until the 17^th minute before any team really threatened. The chance came through a Rangers error when Sebastian Faure was short with a pass back and Sean Higgins managed to intercept. His shot was well saved though by Cammy Bell who also did well to save the rebound from Sean Dickson.

Rangers first real chance of any note came in the 25^th minute when Ian Black hit a weak shot wide of the target from the edge of the box. In the 31^st minute Lee Wallace struck the woodwork with a piledriver from 17 yards after Nicky Devlin misjudged a cross.

Though Rangers were not really applying the pressure they took the lead four minutes later when a Richard Foster cross from the right was headed by Jon Daly into the path of Nicky Law and he pounced on the ball to smash the ball into the net.

Stenhousemuir were given a lifeline in the 41^st minute when Rangers were reduced to 10 men after Arnold Peralta was sent off for a potentially dangerous tackle on Eddie Malone. Thus Stenhousemuir would have went into the half time interval hoping to exploit their numerical advantage.

Certainly it was the Warriors who had the bulk of the play in the second half but they struggled to break down a well drilled Rangers rearguard who at times were guilty of timewasting tactics though this didn’t seem to register with the referee who failed to add additional time on after 90 minutes apart from the customary time for substitutions. It was actually Rangers who created the first chance though through a powerful free kick by Lee Wallace that tested Chris Smith in the Stenhousemuir goal after 47 minutes play.

The closest that the Warriors came to an equaliser was in the 67^th minute. Stewart Greacen, who was making his debut after his international clearance came though, made a cross from deep to Sean Dickson who was unable to shoot as he was quickly closed down, and the ball was cleared for a corner. When the resultant corner came in Sean Lynch’s strike appeared to strike a hand but despite strong appeals no award was forthcoming.

Sean Higgins came close with an effort in the 88^th minute as the Warriors pushed forward just missing the target but in all honesty Rangers were quite comfortable and they increased their lead in the dying embers of the game when Law and Daly combined with the former firing a fine strike into the net giving Chris Smith no chance.

This put a gloss on the result for Rangers as the Warriors worked hard throughout but failed to have the all important clinical edge to their game. Nevertheless there are positives for Stenhousemuir to take out of the game.

Stenhousemuir – C.Smith, Devlin [b88], Malone, Greacen, McMillan, Hodge [Gemmell 55], Dickson [D.Smith 80], Rowson, Higgins, Lynch and McKinlay [b79]. Subs not used – McNeil, Faulds, Ferguson, Shaw and Douglas.

Rangers – Bell, Foster, Faure, Peralta [so 41], Wallace, McCulloch, Little [Crawford 73], Black [Murdoch 89], Daly, Aird and Law [b74]. Subs not used – Shiels, S.Smith, Cribari, Clark and Simonsen.

Referee – Bobby Madden           Assistants – Joseph Lawson and Stephen Brown.